“I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor — we have a safety net there,” he said. “If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich — they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”

O’Brien jumped in, asking him to clarify his statement that he’s not concerned with the very poor. “I think there are lots of very poor Americans who are struggling who would say, ‘That sounds odd,’” she said.

“Well, you had to finish the sentence, Soledad,” Romney replied. “I said, I’m not concerned about the very poor that have a safety net, but if it has holes in it, then I will repair it.”

“But my campaign is focused on middle-income Americans,” he added. “My campaign — you can choose where to focus. You can focus on the rich. That’s not my focus. You can focus on the very poor. That’s not my focus.”

Romney said he is open to talking about whether the “ample safety net” for the poor — such as food stamps, Medicaid and housing vouchers — needs to be strengthened or fixed.

But, he said, the middle class “are the people that have been most badly hurt during the Obama years.”

Romney addressed his controversial comment later Wednesday, telling reporters on his campaign plane that his statement was taken out of context.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I — no no,” he said. “You’ve got to take the whole sentence, all right, as opposed to saying, and then change it just a little bit, because then it sounds very different. I’ve said throughout the campaign my focus, my concern, my energy is gonna be devoted to helping middle-income people, all right?”

Romney said he is “concerned about all Americans” before reiterating his statement that middle-income families are the focus of his campaign.